You may or may not recall that I had a small garden table and chairs set up on the patio.

You can see them on the edge of the garden in this panorama I took a few weeks ago. I bought the set at Walmart a few years back. My intention was to get a small bistro set because the patio is small, but this one was such a good price… I thought it might be nice to have the extra space to entertain out there if we chose.

But we never do. In fact, even Dave only sits out back with me on occasion. It’s a sanctuary for me and the cats, but that doesn’t need a big table. With the bbq, table and chairs, potting bench and all the house plants, the patio feels a little crowded. I had just been remarking to neighbour Krista that I was thinking of getting a smaller table and getting rid of this one.

Well, apparently the garden gods heard me, and decided to give me a kick in the pants, because the other morning, Dave and I woke up to this…

Yep… that’s the glass table top shattered all over my patio stones and garden. What happened? We’re not exactly sure. Apparently these tables can explode on their own if it gets hot enough, but I suspect another culprit. The night before I’d forgotten to put down the umbrella. It doesn’t have a base (it’s just a cheapo beach umbrella), and I think it flew up with the wind, and came down just right, on the table top.

Regardless of how it happened, I was obviously getting a new table whether I wanted one or not.

I would have loved to get a little bistro set, but that’s not in the budget right now (most of them are more expensive than the table set that just broke – despite being smaller). With a little sourcing, I found an inexpensive outdoor end table that would work, as well as a new umbrella (slightly posher than my  cheap one).

I shuffled some things around on the patio, and it’s definitely feeling a little less cluttered.

And I’ve got a nice little spot to enjoy a cup of tea (or Coke, as you can see there), do a little knitting, and take in the beauty of my backyard. The umbrella in that location also provides a little extra shade for some of my house plants that don’t enjoy too much sun. So while I had to spend some money I wasn’t really planning on, I’m a pretty happy girl.

It helps that’s this is what I get to look at when I’m sitting out there

The Lupin look fantastic this year, and the Lilac is in full bloom (and scent) now.

The Chives are going gang busters (I really need to thin them out this year!) and the bees just love them. The Globe Alium are in all their glory.  I had five of these big beauties, but some sneaky squirrel came and snapped the top off one of them, so I’m left with four.

The Iceland Poppies (left) are about 1/3 the size of my magnificent Oriental poppies (which have just started to bloom). It’s such a crazy difference. The centre picture is the Iceland Poppy when all the petals fall off – it still looks pretty neat!

My Columbine are all at least a few years old now and looking great. I love Columbine because not only are they native flowers (which means they do well and are perfect for supporting pollinators), they don’t take up at lot of space, despite providing a fantastic show of flowers. I need to get more colours!

Another thing I’d like to get more of are these Coral Bells. Their leaves come in a HUGE variety of colours (from yellow to deep purple). And you get these pretty little blooms! They look fabulous in the fall as all the green starts to fade, AND they love the shade.

And last… the birds or wind must have brought me these bonus wild daisies. Their leaves are different, and the blooms are smaller than my Shasta daisies. These popped up in between my garden cart and the Blue Girl rose. I’ll have to remove them because it’s not an ideal place. But I’ll wait until they are done blooming!

Now excuse me, I have some knitting en plein air  to do!